Curri

Buffets are kind of scary, don't you think? I'm not talking about how the guy in front of you could have just been scratching his butt before he handled the bread tongs. What's really scary is the "all-you-can-eat" factor, the suggestion that if you don't have thirds you're not getting the most out of your money. However, at Curri, my quest for over-satiation was finished early: the food, although tasty, was less exciting than I hoped it would be.

Most of the dishes were very tame with the spices, particularly the black lentils, and nothing was found to satisfy my masochistic need for something fiery hot. About half of the spread involved chicken, and the popular Chicken Tikka was one of the better choices. The chickpea and eggplant dishes were also favorites. (Apologies for the lack of proper names. As the dude behind me in line said, "I don't speak Indian.")

Biryani, chickpeas, lentils

Appetizer-wise, the potato pakora scored in flavor, but try to catch them right out of the kitchen before they cool off. Baskets of naan were brought to the table -- thicker and greasier than I've sampled before, but still quite good. The pala payasam rice dessert was worthy of that last bit of space in my stomach cavity: fluffy and not too sweet, I could eat this stuff for breakfast.

Despite the simple, elegant interior, black cloth napkins, full bar in the corner, and hovering, eager-to-please servers, the lack of tunes managed to make the place feel like a cafeteria. If there was any music on, it was on low, because all I could hear was the sound of folks happily chomping away. I shouldn't be surprised. This is a buffet, and I suspect their dinner service offers much more in terms of menu items and atmosphere. Check out Curri for one of the better buffets at feeding time (just $9.95 a person), but don't expect them to break out the fancy stuff til you go for dinner.